Modern Apprentices and Skillseekers

Travel & Lodgings Policy

The three basic rules governing the payment of Travel and Lodgings for MAs and Skillseekers are:

Non-employed status: Full reimbursement of all expenses incurred

Employed status: Reimbursement of expenses incurred in attending off the job training only (see Programme Rules For those who fall outside the scope of this policy, no payment will be made for expenses incurred for travel between home and place of work

Employed status living away from home: Lodgings will be refunded if the young person is in employment on a National Training Programme, and an equivalent employment opportunity is not available within a reasonable travel distance from their home, with approval from the Contract Manager

It is a fundamental principle that no young person should be worse off through having entered employment than they would have been as non-employed status. This means that any young person in employment on a National Training Programme should take home at least £50 a week after deducting travel and lodgings costs – in practice this threshold has been determined as £60 or their actual weekly wage, whichever is less.

Thus, someone earning £60 or less a week will have travel and lodgings reimbursed in full.

Those earning more than £60 a week will be reimbursed to the extent that travel and lodgings costs reduce their pay below £60.

Examples:

Weekly pay  £60.00  £67.50  £70.00  £90.00

Travel only  £10.50  £15.00  £22.50  £30.00

“Net” pay     £49.50  £52.50  £47.50  £60.00

Weekly pay                £60.00    £90.00  £100.00  £120.00

Travel & Lodgings £100.00  £120.00    £70.00    £50.00

“Net” pay                  -£40.00   -£30.00     £30.00    £70.00

Reimbursement   £100.00     £90.00     £30.00      £0.00

Evidence and Audit

Training providers will be required to obtain, and keep on file, an employer’s letter detailing the young person’s rate of pay, and obtain evidence of the actual cost of travel and lodgings. Payment should be made against valid evidence of travel and lodgings which should be retained for audit purposes, reimbursed costs being claimed from SDS.

Funding Plan

The default payment lines for travel and lodgings will be removed, so that all anticipated claims will have to be proactively input by the Provider. Providers should enter basic details (weekly rate of pay, cost of travel and lodgings, amount to be reimbursed) in the notes section. 

Eligibility

Eligibility for support to meet the costs of travel and lodgings will be applied retrospectively. Therefore any young person already on programme whose income and travel and lodgings costs meet the above criteria will be able to receive support. Payment is not retrospective and will only apply to expenses incurred from 1 September 2008.

Duration of support

Initial requests for funding support will be for six months (twenty six weeks). Additional funding will require the plan to be put into amendment and a further claim line entered which will have been subject to re-calculation and entered in the notes.

Mode of transport

Expenses should always be calculated according to the cheapest means of travel, usually public transport. Where public transport is not available, rates for private transport are:

Motor cars 22.5p per mile

Passengers 5p per mile

Motor cycle 15p per mile